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Monday, March 28, 2016

Oria Arna ( Odisha Special )

With rice being the staple grain of Odisha, there many kinds of 'Khichidi' that one can find in this state. Unlike the Southern states which have rice varieties that include veggies and a whole lot of spices, the Odia folks simply cannot do without their dal. The running joke in the community is that even if one serves a guest with half a dozen gravy dishes along with rice, they would still berate the fact that the host forgot to serve dal. The only exception to this 'till dal does us apart' rule is the 'pakhala' , a watery rice dish that is served mostly during summers. This dish dispenses the need to pair it with anything that remotely resembles a gravy. As for the others, no exceptions can be made. Never ever.

One such little known but nevertheless delicious rice variety is the 'Oria Arna', an offering at the famous Lingaraj temple in Bhubaneshwar. A simple rice and lentil preparation with a seasoning of ginger, bay leaf and asafoetida in desi ghee, it is sheer delight on the taste buds. Apart from the 'no onion no garlic' days, I also like to cook this dish on the days when I am feeling lazy and want an easy one pot meal.

Read on for the recipe -

Preparation Time - 20 mins

Ingredients -

1 cup arwa rice ( jeera rice)

1 cup split yellow moong dal

2-3 tsp desi ghee

2 tsp sugar

2 bay leaves

1 1/2 inch ginger

2 pinch asafoetida

1/4 tsp turmeric

4 tsp chopped cashews

4 tsp raisins

4-5 tsp finely chopped coconut pieces

salt to taste

Preparation - Wash the lentil and rice together. Strain and mix in the turmeric. Air dry on a flat surface for 2 hours.